Chapter 96

The slave convoy moved slowly, day and night without stopping. Every two hours, the guards would check the cages, brandishing iron whips to intimidate the slaves inside, ensuring they were still alive.

Every ten hours, someone would throw some dry rations and pickled vegetables into the iron cages, pour some murky water into the iron boxes, barely enough to sustain the lives of the slaves.

The slaves in the cages were very quiet, no one dared to resist or escape. Above each cage stood an iron pole, with a dried skull hanging from it, a warning of the fate of those who resisted.

A bloody warning!

Moreover, there were as many as five or six hundred guards on either side of the slave convoy, most of them being martial spirits. There were nearly a hundred golden-armored martial artists by the side of the carriages, all of them powerful martial masters.

And no one could deny that there was definitely a martial king inside the luxurious carriage!

Escape? How could they escape! Unless there was a collective uprising, but that was not realistic!

After observing for a long time, Tang Yan and Du Yang finally gave up all thoughts of escape, staying in the cage, calmly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, quietly healing their injuries. Now, every bit of strength they gained would increase their chances of survival in the mines. It was too late to regret.

What they had to do was to survive! To persist in surviving!

On the fifth morning, the convoy suddenly stopped. This was the first time the convoy had stopped since Tang Yan joined the 'slave family.'

"Are we there? That doesn't seem right?" Tang Yan looked around, still seeing the vast, endless desert, with rolling sand and gravel on the left and lush green grass on the right. The convoy had been walking along the boundary between the two.

"It's still early. This is still the border of the Delos Empire. The Triangular Domain is nearly a thousand miles from the border. Even the nearest mine would take another half a month to reach." Du Yang's condition had improved somewhat, and he analyzed the surroundings.

"How is your meridian recovery? If you had another month, how much could you recover?"

"The energy here is somewhat thin. With another month, I could barely complete the meridian restoration, my strength would be about three to four times, just enough to save my life, not for fighting. What about you?"

"My meridians are almost fully restored, the spiritual energy flows smoothly, but this body... is too weak."

About two hours later, there was a sudden commotion at the front of the convoy, along with shouts and the sound of whips.

"Starting today, each meal will consist of two pounds of roasted meat and five steamed buns. Everyone must eat it! Anyone who wastes even a bit will be punished with ten iron whips!" A large group of guards carried huge trays piled with roasted meat and buns, the rich aroma making the long-starved slaves come to life, staring at the trays, thinking it was a dream.

"It's for you, divide it yourselves! Anyone who leaves a bit, I'll cut off ten pounds of your flesh!" A muscular man walked to Tang Yan's cage, throwing in a large piece of roasted meat, fifteen buns, and a bag of water. He also untied one of Tang Yan's and Du Yang's hands, and the hands of the muscular man beside them.

"Is it poisoned?" Du Yang was somewhat surprised.

Tang Yan didn't rush to eat, nor did the people in the nearby cages make any rash moves. They quietly waited for those who grabbed the food to eat, observing for any unusual reactions.

"Eat it, it's not poisoned. They want to make us look healthy to avoid displeasing the slave owners." The muscular man, who had been silent, suddenly looked up and reached for the roasted meat with his foot.

"Wait, I'll do it!" Tang Yan quickly stopped him. For ordinary dry buns and pickled vegetables, it didn't matter how you ate them, but today's roasted meat was to be shared among three people. If you used your foot to mess it up, how could the others eat it?

"Are you feeding me?" The muscular man's voice was hoarse, looking at Tang Yan coldly. His hands were bloody and temporarily powerless.

"Do you think I'm dirty?" Tang Yan tore off a piece of meat and handed it to the muscular man.

The muscular man looked at him coldly, hesitating for a moment, but finally opened his mouth and swallowed it in large bites.

Tang Yan gestured for Du Yang to eat first, feeding the muscular man with buns and roasted meat: "Don't choke, eat slowly."

The muscular man ate voraciously, his red eyes looking at Tang Yan, then at Du Yang, and finally at the black girl in his arms: "Is this a young demon beast?"

"My friend."

"You'd better hide her. Once we reach the mines, if she's discovered, she might be cooked and eaten."

"Do you know which mine we're going to?"

"The Laoh Family's Essence Fire Mine. The Taiwu Mining Area is vast, comparable to the Northern Wasteland of the Zhou Empire, with ten major mines. The imperial royal family controls the four largest, while the other six are controlled by the six super-families of the Delos Empire. These six families are incredibly wealthy, almost independent within the Delos Empire, their strength so great that even some of the dukes of the Zhou Empire can't compare."

Comparable to dukes? Tang Yan was secretly alarmed, but after careful thought, he understood. The mines provided abundant minerals, giving them vast wealth, which they could use to buy enough powerful warriors to arm themselves.

But this was not good news. On the contrary, the guards at the mines would be even more stringent, making his chances of escape... even more remote.

"The Laoh Family's Essence Fire Mine is enormous, extending 700 miles east-west, 300 miles south, and 18,000 meters down. It has 200,000 slaves, over 10,000 guarding martial artists, numerous martial masters, and seven or eight martial kings." The muscular man spoke indifferently, his expression somewhat bleak. Once inside, unless you died, you would never leave.

It was a hell, a place that would drain every slave dry!

"You know a lot about it?" Tang Yan was somewhat curious.

"The Taiwu Mining Area, everyone in the Delos Empire knows about it. I'm not familiar with it, I've never been there, but I've heard about it. I've had enough, it's your turn now." The muscular man leaned against the iron cage, silent, quietly channeling his spiritual energy to heal his right hand.

Tang Yan noticed that his wounds were emitting sharp rays of light, like countless fine needles, stitching the wounds. Up close, he could feel the sharpness and intensity of the light.

What martial technique is this?!

"My name is Tang Yan, this is my grandson Du Yang, both from the Zhou Empire." Tang Yan asked the muscular man, Du Yang's eyes twitching, glaring at him in annoyance. Who is your grandson!

"Xu Yan!" The muscular man replied casually.

Eh? Xu Yan? A strange name.

From that day on, the convoy stopped for three meals a day, distributing enough food to each slave. However, as the slaves' conditions improved, the guards' vigilance increased, especially around Tang Yan's group, as they were all martial masters. The guards were particularly cautious, and golden-armored martial artists would come to inspect daily.

After half a month, the convoy finally entered the Triangular Domain, and the energy in the air became much richer. However, from that day on, each iron cage was covered with thick black cloth to prevent the slaves from remembering the direction, in case they tried to escape.

Tang Yan did not make any irrational moves, staying quietly in the cage, eating well, drinking well, and resting peacefully. After these days of consideration, his emotions had completely calmed down. From another perspective, being captured was not entirely a bad thing. During the sensitive period when the Zhou Spirit King was hunting him down, having a place to hide was not bad. At least... it could save his life.

As for what would happen in the future, Tang Yan did not think about it for now, he would deal with it after this crisis.

The convoy continued to move, the outside noisy and chaotic, for another ten days.

"We're here!" A shout echoed on both sides of the convoy, and all the slaves felt their hearts contract, their eyes filled with fear. "We're here?" It meant the disaster was about to begin!

The black cloth was pulled away, the glaring sunlight making the slaves unable to open their eyes. After a moment, they adapted, but the scene outside made their faces pale.

The cages were surrounded by people, the outermost layer being martial artists in fiery red armor, their eyes like swords, full of killing intent. Inside were bare-chested muscular men, holding chains and vicious iron whips, some carrying large knives, their eyes full of malice. They smiled cruelly, eagerly inspecting the slaves inside.

The fat man in charge nodded: "Hmm, they look good, they can start working after a short rest!"

"Untie them, bring them down, line them up!"

"Move faster!"

"Come down, you, come here, you go there..."

The sound of whips crackled, the muscular men roughly pushing the slaves. Any resistance was met with a swing of